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After Hurricane Sandy, some elevate houses while others sink in red tape (Ledger Live video)

Ledger Live Video: Elevating houses after Hurricane SandyLedger Live for Feb. 15, 2013. Ledger Live with Brian Donohue A look at two neighborhoods along the New Jersey coast where homes were badly flooded during Hurricane Sandy almost four months ago. In Brick Township, delays by insurance companies, banks and the federal government seem to be leaving middle and working class flood victims stuck in limbo. Meanwhile, in Oceanport, the hum of hydraulic lifts has taken hold in wealthier areas where property owners have cash on hand to begin elevating their homes.

In New Jersey neighborhoods flooded during Hurricane Sandy, the story of the recovery is heard in the sounds you hear as you walk down the street. Just after the storm, it was the roar of garbage trucks and the front-end loaders hauling away debris. Then, the sounds of hammers and electric saws as the rebuilding began.

Over the past few weeks, another sound has emerged: the hum of hydraulic lifts. Homeowners have begun elevating their homes to comply with new flood maps and protect against future storms.

It's a sound, though, you only hear in a few places, mostly places where homeowners have the means to pay the contractors out of pocket. They'll grapple with the government and insurance companies for reimbursement later. Good for them.

The interior of a home flooded by Hurricane Sandy, recently lifted and placed on a new higher foundation.Brian Donohue/The Star-Ledger

But in many other places, an eerie silence has set in. It's the sound of middle- and working-class homeowners waiting to rebuild and elevate their homes. Waiting for FEMA to finalize the new maps, so they know how high to raise their homes. Waiting for towns to launch programs to distribute mitigation funds to pay for it. Waiting for their insurance companies to settle their claims. Waiting for their banks to give them the insurance money or government loans to start rebuilding.

On today's Ledger Live, we visit one neighborhood in Oceanport where the sounds of houses being elevated tells a story of progress and another in Brick, where the silence tells a story of a more frustratingly slow recovery. Watch the video and let us know what you think.